PORT TOWNSEND — When Bill Tennent drove out of Savannah, Ga., in July, he knew he was leaving his old life behind.
But he didn’t know he was heading to the city of his dreams.
“I thought I’d throw all my stuff in my car, and I’d end up where I’m supposed to be,” Tennent said.
Tennent is the new director of the Jefferson County Historical Society.
He arrived in Port Townsend in August to interview for the job.
“When I came over the hill and saw all the historic buildings, I knew this is where I belonged,” Tennent said.
Tennent, 54, didn’t know he had the job when he decided to leave Savannah, where he was director of historic Davenport House.
Westward ho!
He had put his own house on the market, and on the day the sale closed, loaded his bags and his three cats into the car and headed west.
“When I see a good place, I’m going to stop,” Tennent said of his plan.
Before he left, Tennent had applied for the museum directorship in Port Townsend.
He made it as far as New Mexico when he got a call on his cell phone, asking if could come to come to Port Townsend for an interview.
He was the top choice among 26 applicants in a nationwide search and the only finalist asked to come for an interview.
He took the position Sept. 3.
—————–
The rest of the story appears in the Monday Peninsula Daily News. Click on SUBSCRIBE to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.
